Where can we find happiness?

The Declaration of Independence says we have the right to “the pursuit of happiness.”

Where do we find it?

Time Magazine (Jan. 5, 2005) featured a cover with just the word HAPPINESS. The article was entitled “The New Science of Happiness.” Seems scientists, especially Psychologists are getting interest in the subject. Here is an excerpt,

“So, what has science learned about what makes the human heart sing? More than one might imagine — along with some surprising things about what doesn’t ring our inner chimes. Take wealth, for instance, and all the delightful things that money can buy. Research… has shown that once your basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life. A good education? Sorry, Mom and Dad, neither education nor, for that matter, a high IQ paves the road to happiness. Youth? No, again. In fact, older people are more consistently satisfied with their lives than the young. And they’re less prone to dark moods… Marriage? A complicated picture: married people are generally happier than singles, but that may be because they were happier to begin with. Sunny days? Nope, although a 1998 study showed that Midwesterners think folks living in balmy California are happier and that Californians incorrectly believe this about themselves too.”

So what do scientists say make us happy? They sight, religious faith, strong ties to family and friends, engagement (the depth of involvement with one’s family, work, romance and hobbies), meaning (using personal strengths to serve some larger end), gratitude (and keeping a journal of things we are thankful for), acts of kindness, generosity, and humor. This is not a bad list, but it is only what scientists have observed and very limited.

It seems that when we pursue happiness, we lose it. Paul Tournier writes, “It is a universal law that the pursuit of happiness results only in it’s loss… The pursuit of pleasure brings no happiness. The lover who thinks only of the pleasure it will bring him very quickly destroys happiness. The one who thinks of giving pleasure keeps his happiness.

”Why does the pursuit of happiness end in its loss. It is because happiness is a result, not a thing to be pursued.

“There once was in man a true happiness of which now remains to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present. But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” [Pascal]

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY?

With all this thinking and writing about happiness, I decided to lean back for a few minutes and think about what makes me happy…
– I love an honest conversation from the heart, not the fake stuff to impress.
– I love finishing any task, from writing a book to completing a hard workout.
– I love teaching what I have learned to people who are interested.
– I love it when my kids are happy no matter their mate or mission.
– I love a hot shower on a cold day.
– I love books that are real, because they hold my attention.
– I love recording my thoughts in my journal, because it helps me process.
– I love to have an honest talk with my Father, Big Brother (Jesus), and Teacher (Spirit).
– I love sitting in my favorite chair with God, His Word, my books, toast, jam (or my recent discovery – Irish soda bread) and coffee.
– I love hearing people are changed positively by my writings or teachings.
– I love a new word from the Lord spoken directly to me.
– I love to hear people candidly tell their story.
– I love an open discussion with no agenda to change each other.
– I love it when my wife and I are in harmony and hate it when we aren’t.
– I love God’s surprises.
– I love sitting by a pond or stream or ocean and reading with a hot cup of coffee by my side.
– I love New Zealand with the kids, Estes Park and Carlsbad with the family, and visiting our friends in Washington.
– I love coming home after a trip.
– I love unforced giving.
– I love finally setting things straight with others and the peace that follows.
– I love being me and not pretending to be what I am not to impress people.
– I love to make people laugh – especially my kids and grandkids.
– I love summer nights in Colorado, driving on the open road, watching sports, and British mysteries.
So there you have it – more insight into Jim. Why don’t you make your own list and share it with others and then listen to what makes them happy.